HC allows Almora Magnesite to resume mining with pollution board clearance

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday permitted Almora Magnesite Ltd to resume mining operations on the condition that it complied with the state pollution control board's standards. The company has been directed to obtain a no-objection certificate from the board within four months.A division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay was hearing a suo moto public interest litigation concerning cracks and damage allegedly caused by illegal chalk mining in villages of Bageshwar district, including Kanda tehsil, along with petitions related to 165 mining units in the region. The court did not grant interim relief to any other operators currently under the ban.
During the proceedings, the state govt argued that the closure of Almora Magnesite had reduced govt revenue and stressed that the company had not engaged in illegal mining. "The company did not conduct any mining operations without the pollution control board's standards or permission. It meets all standards; therefore, the ban on the company should be lifted," the govt counsel said.After hearing the case, the court lifted the ban on Almora Magnesite Ltd, directing the company to comply with all regulatory conditions.The case originated last year when villagers from Kanda tehsil had written to the Chief Justice stating that illegal chalk mining had damaged their farmland, homes and water supply lines. They said that while the affluent residents relocated to places like Haldwani, the poor remained in the affected villages with their livelihoods under threat. They said that repeated complaints were made to higher authorities in this regard but no action was taken, forcing them to seek judicial intervention.